Five Things to Watch This Week

We are closing in on the home opener for the Arizona football team, and while a matchup against Northern Arizona may not draw much attention, there are five things I am going to be looking for this week and for the rest of the season.

Let’s get started …

1. Get That Winning Feeling Back

How angry and frustrated were you as a fan after the ASU loss last November? How about two weeks ago after the Hawai’i game?

Now take that anger and frustration and multiply it by 10, at least, and that’s what it feels like for players and coaches to lose those games. No matter how passionate or supportive any fan is, no one puts more time, effort and energy into the outcomes of games that the team itself.

It’s very important for fans to understand that. All fans.

Now, with that said, this week’s game against NAU is very important to the Wildcats. Most people will dismiss the significance of this game because they will expect Arizona to win easy. That’s fine, it should be an easy win. But when you haven’t won a game since Nov. 2 of last season, bringing that winning feeling back to the locker room is critical.

The Wildcats have not celebrated a win in a very long time. This specific team – the one that has played just one game – has not celebrated a win yet this year. Getting that first win under the belt is necessary to propel the team into bigger and better things, regardless of the competition.

Once that winning feeling is established, confidence and momentum can switch sides. Suddenly the nightmares from the ASU and Hawai’i games fade away, and this team earns its opportunity to establish its own identity – not be compared to last year’s squad.

So with that said, my No. 1 priority for the Wildcats this week is to win and have fun doing it. There’s nothing like a winning football locker room no matter who you beat.

2. Get Physical

Whether it was first game jitters, the bus delay getting to the stadium or some other reason, Arizona’s offensive line was not physical for much of the Hawai’i game. Maybe some of it was play-calling with too many RPOs instead of dedicated run plays to get the ground game going, but the offensive line needs to pave the way for the stable of running backs and keeping Tate comfortable staying in the pocket when he drops back to pass.

As the game wore on, the Wildcats’ began to create more push at the line of scrimmage, particularly along the left side behind Donovan Laie and Robert Congel. But going forward, that tone has to be established from the get-go with all five consistently working together.

To win games in the Pac-12 against the likes of Utah, Washington, Stanford and others, you’re going to have to grind some games out by controlling the clock and allowing your defense to adjust and rest on the sideline. That does not happen without the big guys up front dominating.

Tate, Taylor and others are going to get the headlines for this offense, but the line needs to be the tone-setters week in and week out.

3. Attacking Mentality

Defensively, everyone has chimed in about either the lack of pass rush or the issues in pass coverage. Most criticized both, and plenty have been upset with the coaching, too. It’s all fair.

Here’s my assessment: forget the intricacies of the X’s and O’s; establish an identity.

The identity should be to attack. Attack the run. Attack the passer. Attack the receivers early in their routes. If you’re going to go down defensively, go down attacking.

If there is blame to give coordinator Marcel Yates and the defensive staff, I feel that they put in too much schematically to try and confuse and stop Hawai’i. The coverages were mixed all game, as were the alignments in the front seven. Even though the defense collected six turnovers, it was too often slow to react in coverage and never got consistent pressure.

Sometimes when you have too much in a game plan you lean on winning with your schemes instead of winning with your players. I still feel good about the improved talent on this side of the ball, and I want that talent to play free.

A fast, aggressive, nasty and attacking defense will get Arizona Stadium riled up faster than the big plays on offense. Once this mindset is established in the defense, then schemes can be tweaked to offset tenancies from week to week.

4. Spread the Wealth

Arizona’s offense has feared playmakers in quarterback Khalil Tate and running back J.J. Taylor. Everyone – including me – has called for more focus on the rushing attack, but that doesn’t mean handing it to Taylor 40 times or letting Tate keep 25 times. The Wildcats have a bevy of options at running back and receiver, and they need to distribute the ball around – both running and passing – to give these skill players the opportunity to develop in games.

A 200-yard rushing game from Taylor is always welcomed, but we need to see Gary Brightwell, Michael Wiley, Nathan Tilford and Bam Smith get touches as well. I expect to see two-back sets continue to be utilized both for run and pass situations, and these guys need game reps.

The same goes for the receivers, who don’t always need balls thrown their direction to benefit from their game reps. I would expect to see a couple more receivers in the rotations this week as these guys continue to compete and earn their playing time. Certainly catching the ball is priority No. 1, but blocking on the perimeter to open up explosive run plays is equally as important. Competition in games will help this group grow.

Simplifying some of the defensive calls and establishing an aggressive, attacking mentality is what I want to see. I want these guys flying to the football and playing physical.

That can start this week against NAU.

5. Support the Football Team

Apathy may be at an all-time high for Arizona football, which is a very troubling thing. Win or lose, love a coach or hate, perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a football program is when fan apathy sets in.

An apathetic fan base is a turn off to donors, recruits and prospective coaches down the road. It is even a turn off for other fans. When people stop caring and supporting, the climate and culture is not conducive to a winning program. And it’s hard to turn around.

That is a major reason I continue to push the need to be a football season ticket holder. If this community and University wants to take football to a new level, it needs to support football. When people stop buying tickets, stop going to games and lose their desire to have a good football program, it becomes impossible to have a good football program.

You can like or dislike coaches as much as you want, but if you want to have a strong football product you have to support it – both financially by buying tickets and physically by being at the games to create an atmosphere that gives the team an edge and invites the next generation of Wildcats to want to be a part of this program.

Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that the 100-plus student-athletes putting on the pads and dedicating themselves to the program are what matter each year. They represent the past history and are the connection to the future of the program. Those young men deserve a first-class experience here at the University of Arizona and they deserve full support from the fans in this community.

Attendance this Saturday likely won’t top 35,000. That’s a shame. Hopefully this team will show its improvement over the last couple weeks and give us optimism for the rest of the season regardless of the opponent this week. 

So I encourage every Wildcat near or far, if you have an interest in the success of Arizona football in the future, don’t fall into the trap of apathy.

Don’t wait until basketball season. Don’t wait until next year.

Bear Down and Beat NAU. Get your tickets here.

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